Monday, July 31, 2017

July Recap and 1 Second Everyday Video

Well, it's already the end of July! A little over a month until my kids will be back in school. It feels like summer just started! It's been a good summer, though, so I'm not complaining.

In recap:

Jerry, the kids, and I spent a week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Jeanie and Shawn's "camp". I went four-wheeling, sat around the campfire, made s'mores, watched Brian's ridiculously amazing fireworks show, spent tons of time with Luke (my favorite part!), found lots of cool rocks on a beach of Lake Superior, and ate some Mackinac fudge on the way home.

Noah went to church camp, and while he was gone, I gave Eli "cooking lessons", which he was very excited about. He especially loves chopping vegetables now. Today, he made us fish (blue gill that he caught himself!) and home fries.

The stir-fry prep took an hour and a half! Hahaha--but he learned to chopall sorts of veggies, and he loved it.

Eli played in an All-Star baseball tournament, and their second game was literally the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever sat through. We needed ONE STRIKE to win the game against a very tough (and extremely cocky) team; but things turned around and we lost. Still, Eli's team did much better than the other teams did against them.

Eli was catcher for the entire game--I was impressed, because it was 85 degrees outside!

Best of all, Jeanie and Shawn totally surprised us by showing up at Eli's game! We had no idea that they were coming to Michigan, and I was speechless when they got to the game. It was super fun having them there.

My friend Sarah came into town from Arizona, and she and her husband, Ne, came over. Noah cooked us sausages on the grill he got for his birthday, and then Sarah, Ne, Jerry, and I played Euchre. I've missed Euchre! I want to teach the kids how to play.

I learned that Monica had terminal liver cancer, which was devastating. We only had her for a year, but she was the sweetest cat! I was so sad to make the decision to have her euthanized, but she was not doing well at all in the end. I was with her when the vet put her down, and that was so much harder than I anticipated. Thankfully, my friend Andrea was there with me.

Noah went to Brian's house and Brian helped him make a corn hole set. For Noah's birthday, Brian bought all the materials to make it, and then Noah went to Brian's house and they built the set. I didn't see it until after Noah stained it, and it's AMAZING. I can't wait to play a game! The bags we ordered should arrive tomorrow, so we'll likely play a game tomorrow night. I wish I'd taken a picture of the boards, but I'll have to do it tomorrow.

I went fishing/boating with Eli and my dad. Eli had been wanting me to go to a particular spot in the lake for a long time, so I finally went. I didn't fish, but it was fun seeing Eli so excited and totally in his element. He was born a fisherman.

I went for a run--just because I felt like it. For the first time in about five months!

Jerry, the kids, and I went on a dinner cruise with my dad's extended family. Not only was it fun to meet family members I'd never met before, but the views from the boat were amazing! I loved seeing the Ambassador Bridge from underneath.

I saw Luke again yesterday, and every time I see him, I just can't get over how much he's grown. It's cool to see how he progresses in his coordination each time, too. When my kids were babies, I didn't notice it so much because I saw them every day. Since I only see Luke about once a week, each milestone stands out. Yesterday, I was cracking up at how he grabs his feet and pulls them up next to his ears. And it's so fun to make him smile and coo. He melts my heart.

Luke was getting super tired, but once Nathan held him, he perked up and gave uslots of smiles and coos again.

Here is my 1 Second Everyday video for July:

So, other than Monica, it's been a pretty great month. I think August will be much quieter, because we don't really have any plans. I am going to be coaching cross country again, and our practices are supposed to start in a couple of weeks (which reminds me that I have to get together with Renee and figure out the details)!

6 comments:

I hope you tried Dark Chocolate Caramel Fudge - it's delicious! And if you haven't tried fudge (instead of a chocolate bar) in your s'mores, do it - you won't be sad. Quick observation - Noah's 9th birthday pic reminds me a lot of Jerry. It's nice to see you so happy :)

We bought three different kinds, but the one I chose was chocolate cherry, and it was delicious! I love cherries, and it being Michigan... well, it sounded perfect! ;) I've never thought of using fudge in a s'more, but I definitely need to now. That sounds amazing!

I'd love to hear from you! I read all of my comments, and if you have a question, I do my best to respond; sometimes, however, I get busy and forget to go back to reply, so if it's important, just email me! :)

Click here for Part 1 . Having a lower body lift after losing well over a hundred pounds was one of the best decisions I've ever made....

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